Who took the Orphan?

I've had this article for several years now. When I read about cases such as the little girl in China who laid in the street dying while no one stopped to help, or the attacked homeless man lying on the street ignored, or any of the many cases where people are in life and death situations and are in immediate need of help, but are blatantly ignored.

For some reason, this article that is buried and mostly forgotten about on my pc, always seems to find a way to be found while searching for another file. Each time I read it, I wonder why it is that people can be so coldhearted and uncaring. In the case of the article, these were not strangers and maybe they didn't know the little boy was so ill he was dying, but still no one could be bothered with the boy who's mother had just died and was so ill he could not even go to her funeral.

I know times were different back then, people could barely afford to feed themselves, but that is no excuse. Compassion is free. Do the passersby in the case of the girl from China feel any sense of guilt or remorse now that the little girl died? Are they ashamed of themselves? Are they ashamed because they were caught or because they did nothing?

I've seen times where one person takes the lead and stands up for something and then one by one, others follow. Are the followers following because they have a leader, or because they will 'be caught' and don't want to look bad to others? If so, how can they worry so much about themselves, but not show one ounce of compassion toward someone in need on their own accord?

Do you think any of these passersby feel remorse afterward, or are they just emotionless and don't care one way or the other?

That was a very powerful story. You have made a grown man cry. God, save us from ourselves.

This article moved me to tears, it is just so heart wrenching to think people could be this way. I am the type of person that would take in a child like this, even if it meant I would not eat. I guess that is just they way I was raised. My husband on the other hand would be the type to say no.

I do have to refer to a woman I am friends with. A few years ago she went to vist a friend who was at the time a big time coke and pot head. My friend was not at all on drugs but unfortunatly her boyfriend was. (He is clean now, I should say that, he is not a bad person at all) While at this person's house a woman was there with her two little boys, 6 months and 7 years old at the time. This woman was complaining that she had these kids all the time and she never got to do anything and so on. My friend offered to babysit them for her,(This woman had never met my friend and knew nothing about her!) She has told me the boys needed a bath and food something awful and she just felt the need to help. So, my friend takes the boys home with her, hours pass and the mother never came.
A day turns into a night, then a week. After a week my friend called social services and tells them this woman has left her children with her and never came back. She agrees to keep them longer while the social services trys to find this woman. They find her, she is in jail and is going to be staying there for quite sometime. They tell my friend that they are going to come and take the children, and my friend freaks out. She gets a judge to grant her temporary custody of the boys, to keep them away from a foster home. Six months pass and my friend goes to court to get full custody of these boys. They bring in the mother and she signs them over. (the father's of these boys is unknown). She has been raising these boys who are not even hers for 8 years now all because their druggy mother didn't want to fool with them.
My friend at the time and still to this day is not the wealthiest person, living below the poverty level and doing what she can to scrap by. She since got married and so on, but still. They had/have nothing and still gave a loving home to these boys who may have otherwise had a horrible life. It's people like this, with hearts this big that make this world a good place.
I wish there were more people like her. I would do the same in a heart beat.

reply to post by virraszto

I think one reason everyone is so brutal is because life is very hard on everyone. In those days as well as these taking in a crippled ill child is not just a little inconvenience it is a life altering thing to the point of taking every little pleasure your family may have had away if you are poor.
If you are poor and you both work you would need to buy not only medical care but someone to babysit everyday meaning there was nothing left extra and maybe not enough of anything. If anything then happens to one of your family the resources that could have saved them is already used up.
Clearly in such a case as your "story" someone should have taken him home without even a thought so that later a home could be found but then they may be afraid they could not find a home and their own children end up with not enough food.
Life is hard and we know we all get sick and eventually we all die. Compassion has its place but I have known a couple of people whose compassion ruined their families lives. One constantly helped those in need while his family had not enough food and lived in a shambles of a dump with no conveniences or even a TV until we gave them one..because he gave all his money and often their own household things to others.
The other collected poor sad animals until the kids had no life and no attention and lived in animal filth.
If you want to add worry and stress to life's hardships that are already faced daily you should make sure the decision is shared at least by the whole family.
Speaking as a person who is ill atm and has no insurance and cannot afford any stupid tests. I can see the heart wanting to help but reality means sometimes you can't.

reply to post by lilowl53

Well I guess we can never know since we cannot see the full direction that each possibility could have taken us, but these boys may have been given up and eventually adopted by high income families since they were very young and went on to college and better lives if your friend had NOT taken them in.
Your friend has friends who are into heavy drugs so the children still have connections to that world now when they would have been adopted by people far removed from their past possibly. I hope it all turns out well.

reply to post by Char-Lee


No, those boys are better off where they are. She no longer has those connections. BTW Also, being poor doesn't mean you will go on to have a horrible life and never go to college and be a slob. Love has no price tag. Even the most rich in the world neglect their children. Love and a life if what these kids have now, all because my friend gave up hers. I think that is what should be taken from that. Perhaps my telling did not get the point across, I guess you would just have to see it and know it for yourself.

Not all poor people or people who used to have problems are bad or will continue to be and do bad things. A lot of people are poor these days, does that mean they should give their kids over to the riches person they can find?